How Online Presentations Help a Job Search

If you think your occupation is a natural for online presentations to be included in the job search and decide to try it, four advantages are waiting in the wings for you:

You call the shots. One of the first moves hiring authorities make after identifying an attractive lead is Googling the person. Displaying your credentials on a work portfolio, a prezi, a video, or even your own website gives you the edge in exerting a degree of control over what they find.

Job seekers have a story to tell, and you can best tell it in your own way on your own terms.

You stand out. Visual examples of your accomplishments, milestones, and completed projects are more believable when seen than merely read. You have visual proof that you can do what you say you can do.

You enlarge the picture. A resume doesn’t have enough space for bullet points, several paragraphs, and a blurb of endorsement to tell your entire work story. Online presentations have room to show who you are, where you’ve been to gain your qualifications, and what you can accomplish in the future.

You spread the word. Refer to your online presentation platforms — especially your work portfolio — in all your application materials. Put the word out by using social media; use active links in your social bios to connect potential employers to your presentations. Your chances of inspiring hiring authorities to tap you for interviews expand substantially as you document the talent you deliver.

Researchers say that vision trumps all our other senses and speak of a theory called the picture superiority effect (PSE) to explain how humans absorb information. One PSE report notes that 72 hours after an oral presentation is concluded, only 10 percent of the audience can remember what was said — but when the presentation includes visuals, 65 percent of the audience can recall the information.

Visuals apparently not only catch the eye, but also boost the power of memory.

Think about your own information processing: Do you remember more details when a presentation includes images, slides, photos, videos, color, and design?